Bradley Moore is the Founder and CEO of SAFR Removals, one of the more well-known logistics company in South Africa. In an interview with Insights Success, Bradley shared some valuable viewpoints about the Logistics Industry. He also has also elucidated on how his company is experimenting and innovating different ideas that are transforming the industry.
- What is the present scenario of Logistics Tech Solution industry from your point of view?
We still have much to do to enhance efficiencies within Logistics Tech Solution space. The logistics technology is there but the knowledge, training and coordinative functions for this technology aren’t maximizing the solutions that are available. The logistical playing ground has too many players that are all preoccupied with their own limited focus and survivals instead of combining their resources, clients’ needs and truck space management for more efficiency, and therefore cost savings. A more simplistic business infrastructure can be initiated with the Logistics Tech solutions. However, it needs a human element to integrate and coordinate all viable platforms with the logistics players. We believe the human element is necessary for manipulating the Tech functionality into the logistics arena.
- Would you like to enlighten us about your mission, vision, philosophies you follow, and the future goals?
As the Founder & CEO of JHB Removals, I am set about testing a business philosophy and increasing efficiency by implementing IoT and improving the coordination with co-players within the transport industry.
The philosophy was to collect and coordinate with co-industry players who share a passion to deliver quality customer service and use our collective market intelligence to effectively represent local removal and storage service needs. This market intelligence would not only enhance all role players to source new business opportunities, but it would also provide logistical efficiency whereby each team can concentrate on specific regions within the provinces. This would eliminate diesel wastage, travelling time and grappling with unnecessary traffic which contributes so much inefficiency to logistical service delivery.
The SAFR Group (PTY) Ltd management philosophy is based on carefully selected staff and teams that are self-driven and have a natural instinct to provide the best possible communication and service delivery to our clients. Each team and person are their own authority without being policed and motivated. The rewards are reflected in the results of their own work.
- Brief us about your company and its inception story.
Cape Removals (https://www.caperemovals.co.za/)
Cape Removals was incepted in October 2012, Cape Town, Western Province, South Africa.
The regionally focused furniture removal & storage business was founded with the objective of providing a collective brand that would represent 4 to 6 independent removal teams which all had the same service delivery commitments but lacked technology integration and regional brand identity.
The business model was extremely well received by the localized removal teams in The Western Cape. We coordinated and provided a platform to launch The 1st leg of our national strategy in 2012 and launched Cape Removals business in 2012.
The success of Cape Removals and its formula was duplicated in other key regions within South Africa which included Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban in the Gauteng & KwaZulu-Natal regions respectively.
JHB Removals (https://www.jhbremovals.co.za/)
Johannesburg and Pretoria, as regions, are essentially the financial zones which drive South Africa’s economy and our localized business JHB Removals was born with the same business model and formula, hoping to reap the same results that Cape Removals had. JHB Removals’ localized formula was extremely well received and the progression to KwaZulu-Natal followed naturally and easily.
DBN Moving Company (https://www.dbnmovingcompany.co.za/)
DBN Moving Company was launched in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal in 2017, to connect the logistical dots for a starting national infrastructure and to expand our selection of services which now facilitates a national furniture removal service.
SAFR GROUP (PTY) Ltd (https://www.furnitureremovalssa.co.za/)
SAFR GROUP (PTY) Ltd was born in 2019 with the purpose of providing a coordinative hub for us and our partners with the objective of maximizing logistical efficiency, Increasing our reach and optimizing customer service at ground level. SAFR Group has found a purpose in bringing together localized teams and services from all corners of South Africa.
SAFR Group (PTY) LTD will consolidate its position before reaching out internationally.
- What kind of ‘out-of-the-box’ strategies does your company follow to differ from your competitors?
SAFR’s out-of-the-box strategy is to coordinate ourselves and localized role players into an efficient machine. This starts with leadership managing, communicating and re-emphasizing our common goals in providing the best possible service at the best possible price. Working towards service excellence and professionalism are key aspirations for us.
- How does your organization contribute to the Company Social Responsibility cause?
We are a young company with our resources being reinvested into our business to ensure we all have job security first and foremost. We are now expanding on this and we are ensuring that our own staff and their children’s dignity and social status are enhanced and uplifted to healthy levels. Besides looking after our own, we provide financial support to community sports initiatives for children as well as animal rescue and rehabilitation.
- How do you diversify your offerings so as to benefit your customers?
Removal Costing, personal goods security and protection are the primary focuses for us and our clients. The training and selection of our staff are obvious attention areas for us but we still continually search for strategic dedicated employees, share load transportation, technology options as well as supporting services like packing, crating, protective wrapping and packaging material. Personal goods and their safety are emotionally and sentimentally attached to our clients and therefore we strive to provide innovative protective options for our clients.
- From the beginning till today, list out the toughest difficulties you’ve faced and lessons you’ve learned from them? What is the effect of the current Diesel phase-out plans proposed by many countries on your company?
Our difficulty is primarily coordinating an efficient share load space utilization with clients and our own schedules to minimize the empty spaces being wasted. We are aspiring to ultimately reduce trucks and time on the road but still facilitate logistical collecting and delivering of all furniture to our clients’ depots, offices, and houses.
We are pro diesel phase out and we maintain our objective of diesel efficiency by using less diesel and ultimately no diesel at all. We aim to be the leader in Electric adaption and the 1st in South Africa and Australia to do so.
- With the massive advancements in technology such as IoT, Autonomous Vehicles, AI, Electric Vehicles, and more what are the opportunities and challenges evolving with it?
Opportunities for AI, IoT, and Electric trucking is massively exciting for us. The intelligence and analytics derived will enhance our ability to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce human error, enable management & clients to be proactive and be more directly involved.
This is an area that SAFR Group is aspiring to prepare and incept as quickly as possible.
Our challenges will be to develop the expertise to implement and manage all AI and the IoT.
- What can be expected from your company in the near future?
To provide and populate an interactive service for our clients and selected contractors to communicate directly on an efficient logistical transporting platform per region, per district, nationally and internationally.
- Any advice for the budding entrepreneurs in the industry?
Opportunity and entry into our industry have never been easier nor more exciting. The Logistics offers so many areas of expertise which can and should be independent with a very little capital cost of entry. The Logistics industry was a very capital intensive industry with the need to have trucks and supporting infrastructure to provide a complete service to their clients.
The playing field has changed drastically and it’s becoming increasingly easier for an entrepreneur to enter the logistics market from a large variety of expertise channels.